ACUTE : ReACT
by Konohana Niji
Summary: Three best friends. A love triangle which led to the tragedy.  The broken body which remained, the broken heart of which remains to beat.  Even after everything, will the girl still be able to continue living...?
1. Prologue: A New Meeting, A New Beginning

_-Our first meeting was probably just an accident._

_And yet, such a simple accident..._

"..."

...A single bed, a single table, a single vase, a single chair.

A single room enclosed by four white walls, its colour grey in my blurred eyes.

My neck and my arms were covered by white bandages.

Looping and looping, almost as if they were there to strangle me.

Yet, here I am, staring straight at the distant grey ceiling, the darkness of the night tainting everything I see.

It's impossible to move-every moment meant pain, and even those accidental cuts on my arms gave me as much torture as having a knife sliced through them.

So, for a long time, I laid there, motionless.  
>Thinking, endlessly thinking, and pondering, endlessly pondering.<p>

My voice slowly lost its existence in this world...

"..."

There was this time where she came to visit me.

I said nothing. I couldn't say anything.

"..."

"_...I will snatch away everything from you..."_

She looked at me silently. Unable to see her face, I can only imagine what it was as she looked at my pathetic form.

Was it hatred? Was it pain?  
>Or was it... sorrow...?<p>

I couldn't picture it.  
>No... I probably didn't want to.<p>

"_...Him, our memories... Everything..."_

"_...I'm sorry."_

Leaving behind a vague whisper, my best friend left the room.

And then, for a long time after that, sound never visited me again.

...Days later, I stepped out of my grey cage.

My legs didn't felt like they were mine.  
>I lazily dragged them along, my brain still hazy for having been lying down for so long.<p>

The hospital corridors felt warmer than my ward room, a comfortable temperature.

Walking about aimlessly, I came to the staircase at the end of the corridor. It was brightly-lit, a condition fitting for the desired safety of a hospital.

Should I take it? There were only two paths there, either going upwards, or downwards.

Downwards... was where the two most important people in my life were.  
>-My past, the painful experience, the knife which scarred my heart and soul.<p>

...I took a step, and went upwards.

The stairs went on for eternity, endlessly spiraling upwards.

-To a distant future.

Nurses and doctors rush downwards, upwards, lost in the maze of the present.

I'm a doll, a toy without a proper soul, wandering in her past.

Tomorrow never arrives in this cruel world.

"..."

...Then, I came to a door.

It marked the end of the stairs, and the end of my aimless journey to adjust to the flow of time.

The door, left ajar, slowly rocked back and forth in the wind.

What should I have done, I never knew.

I had already lost my goals, my dreams, and everything important to me.

...And it had all been my fault.

That's why - there is nothing that I can do.

Since there is nothing to do, I never understood what I should do.

That's why I'd spent my new empty life lying on the hospital bed, staring at the faraway ceiling.

What exactly prompted me to come out here was probably just curiosity.

...

...Seems like I'm still human after all.

"..."

I gave a light push at the door. It swung open, initiating a deep sound of rusty metal at its hinges.

-A boy turned to look at me.

...Blue eyes, blonde hair. He looked like a foreigner, yet his expression brought a familiarity which pushed away that fact.

He gave a short glance, and turned away to look at the horizon.

The sky was orange, the sun mid-way from being fully set.

...The end of the day - twilight.

I walked in, onto the roof flooring.

It felt extremely rough under my bare feet, yet it seemed numb after all the pain which I had went through.

Silently walking over, I sat down on a bench beside the boy and stared at the sun, the climax of an empty day.

Very soon, the faraway buildings ate up the sun. Night arrived, yet again. Cold air enveloped me, playing with my hair. Cradling myself, I tried my best to warm up.

And then-

"...That was beautiful."

"...?"

The boy suddenly spoke. Feeling as though he was trying to start a conversation with me, I carelessly fumbled around for words.

_Ah... I'm still the same, aren't I?_

After a long silence, the boy turned around in curiosity.

I held my tongue nervously.

"...Are you unable to speak?" The boy raised a kind question. I shook my head in reply.

"...I see. I must have scared you."

I hastily shook my head.

He raised an eyebrow in interest, and smiled.

"I'm Len. Can I know your name?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice felt like it had already been taken away from this world...

...No words came out.

Len looked at me, his silhouette against the lights of the city. The lights on the roof buzzed on, and our shadows surrounded us.

I shook my head in disappointment. However, he didn't give up.

"How about mouthing your name to me? I should be able to tell."

I tried.

"Bi...?"

I shook my head.

"Oh, Mi?"

I nodded.

"...Ku. Miku?"

I nodded.

"Miku... That's a nice name."

His smile widened. A familiar smile, one which brought back faint memories of that certain day...

I looked away.

"Sorry. Did I do something?"

I stood up and shook my head. It truly felt stupid and annoying of me for not being able to speak at all. At the same time, this boy-Len-unknowingly brought back those unwanted memories.

Wanting to protect my own dignity and sanity, I began walking in the direction of the exit.

...To walk out of the roof, to walk out of the life of this person called 'Len'...

"Wait! Don't go!"

His voice echoed through the night. My legs unconsciously stopped.

I heard his footsteps as he ran to me in haste, coming up before me. I looked away from his blue eyes, in an attempt to forget those two...

"Will I get to meet you again?"

...A familiar phrase.  
>...One which I had heard before, one which I had kept deep in the dark shadows of my heart.<p>

-A phrase which I didn't want to remember.

"...Mmm..."

My voiceless words gave a bad answer, and I began to shake my head strongly in an attempt to let him know my true intentions.

"...I see... I understand. However, if we were to meet again, please don't avoid me like this."

"...?"

A gentle request. I turned to look at him, and he gave me a sad but satisfied smile.

"There's this saying. The first time is chance, the second time is coincidence, but the third time...," he winked, "...Is fate."

_...But even so... I can't remain in your life..._

I ran through the door. For this person to know me, it would mean hell for both of us.

No.  
>I was probably just afraid of getting close to anyone again.<p>

Len's voice echoed down the staircase. But I still continued to run.

I wanted to escape from there. I wanted to escape from pain.

_It's alright..._

"..."

_He'll eventually come to forget everything anyway..._

"..."

And in such a manner, my first meeting with Len passed...


	2. Acute 1: Dawn of the Story

We first met when we were in high school.

At that time, I was a typical school girl: hyper active, fun-loving, and talkative. I was the type that got along with everyone, that made friends with everyone.

Yet, that also made me a lonely person.

"Hatsune-san!"

"Ah, Luka-chan!"

I first met Luka during the opening ceremony. She had been the girl who was sitting beside me; tall, mature, and emitting a kind of mysterious aura that lures you to her. You could say that many people were afraid of her because of this, yet somehow it sparked my adventurous soul, and I eventually got to know her better.

"Luka-chan, have you done the homework that Mitsuki-sensei gave us last week? I think it was due today."

"Ahaha. I finished it on the same day as her lecture."

"Eh? Wait, you finished it? With no problems?"

"Yes."

"Ehhhh? Impossible, impossible! I couldn't do it at all! You must lend it to me later, before the lecture starts, alright?"

"Eh?"

"Pinky promise!"

"…Hehe. Okay. Pinky promise."

Despite how she looks, Luka was a really kind and shy girl. She wasn't good at expressing herself, and tends to get embarrassed for the weirdest things. Not to mention, she was incredibly gullible. I had thought that girls like that only existed in shoujo manga. Seeing one in real life was like meeting a fairy tale character.

I wanted to know her. I grew attached to her. Before I knew it, she was already by best friend.

Anyone could tell that we were both of totally different personalities. Yet, somehow, we were inseparable.

And I probably never noticed that loneliness finally felt like something faraway.

_What an idiot I was._

…And that was when he appeared.

"Ah, this young man here is a transfer student from Tokyo. Would you mind introducing yourself, Shion-san?"

"I'm please to meet everyone here. My name is Shion Kaito, and I've transferred here from Tokyo due to my father's job. I know that already a half of this year has passed, but I hope that I can still get along with everyone here. Thank you!"

He had dark blue hair that covered part of his eyes, which had a blue that were deeper than the sea. With those beautiful eyes of his, he glanced around the classroom, taking in everything in his new environment with a smile.

His searching eyes stopped.

The class welcomed him with a half-hearted clap.

I remembered. I remembered that day clearly.  
>I remembered where his gaze had stopped.<br>I know what was reflecting in his eyes at that moment.

I followed that gaze, and saw my best friend.

"Luka-chan…"

Her eyes were fixated on him, wide, as if seeing the sun for the first time.

It was so obvious.

_That was probably something called a love at first sight._

Kaito was outstanding in everything. He joined the Student Council almost immediately after transferring, and then became a star player for the school basketball team.

It was no surprise that he became popular almost instantly afterwards.

Having someone as fantastic as that in my class made me half-shocked and half-elated. I had actually thought something like "High school is the best!" for several times.

But that was just the beginning.

"Let's decide your groups for the field trip by lottery. That way, no one can complain, right?"

I didn't know if it was luck or coincidence. It could even have been a cruel play of fate.

Kaito, Luka and I ended up in the same group.

"Looks like we're going to Tokyo," Luka said excitedly.

"With Kaito-kun in our group, this task should be a cinch!"

"Ah, no. I only know a small part of Tokyo."

"Eh?"

"Ahaha. It's okay. We'll make our way around this somehow," Luka said soothingly.

And then I saw it. I saw how Kaito's eyes glimmered in the evening sun as he looked at my best friend.

Thus, the field trip began.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay~ Part 1 of the ACUTE story is up~<strong>

**This is a pretty short (and not to say, badly written) story to continue the prologue I wrote a year ago.** **Can't believe it took me a year to remember I wrote this. Let's hope I'm passionate/inspired enough to continue this story till the end.**

**- Niji-chan**


	3. React 1: Alone, By Oneself

He came to visit me. That boy, Len.

"I'm glad I finally found you, Miku-san. I had a bit of trouble because there were quite a number of Mikus in this hospital. Had to visit all of them to find you. So, the Miku in your name is written with Katakana? It's the same with mine!"

He was strangely enthusiastic, a perfect contrast to the gray room I was in.

"Are you a foreigner?" I asked.

Taken aback by my sudden question, Len froze in his spot, but quickly recovered with a slight smile. "My grandmother is. I inherited her blonde hair and blue eyes. Makes me look like a foreigner when I'm not. In case you're not convinced, my full name is Kagamine Len. Kagamine is perfectly Japanese, no?"

Kagamine. The sound of a mirror.

"Rather than that, Miku-san also has some beautiful green hair. Did you dye it?"

I gave no reply to that. "Why did you come to find me?"

"_Why are you acting like that?"_

His eyebrows began to knit together. "Nothing really… It just that the meeting with you bugged me for quite a while, and I just couldn't help the urge of wanting to meet you again."

Bugged you?

"The timing of it was too perfect to be a coincidence."

Timing? Perfect?

"Remember when I told you about that 'chance' and 'meeting' thing?"

I nodded.

"That was when I felt that our meeting might have been due to fate."

Fate. A cruel word, a cruel thing.

"I didn't know men believe things like these," I replied honestly.

"Hm? Ah, no I don't believe things like that. It just that somehow, that phrase had popped up into my head at that time, and I just couldn't shake it off. Despite how random it sounded, I suddenly said it to you. You must have found that weird, right?"

"Not really."

"Ah… Is that so? Then, that's good then."

"Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Eh?"

Silence caught his voice, and Len could only stare uncomfortably at me as I sat there by the window.

"Is something troubling you?" I asked.

"…Yes," he answered. "You."

That took me by surprise.

"The only people who would want to go to the roof of a hospital are only those with things in their heart, those that want to break away from the world, or those who want to end their suffering."

He paused.

"I wanted to know which one you were."

I gave the young boy a silent gaze.

"…Which one do you think I am…?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm here."

"Then, your job is over. It's none of the above," I answered coldly.

Len didn't flinch, nor did he become hesitant. With a determined gaze he took a step forward towards me.

"I want to help you."

"I don't need your help."

"Yes you do. I can tell."

"No I don't. Please leave right now."

"Tell me."

"Don't ask me anything."

"_It hurts…"_

"Why can't you tell me?"

"I don't want to say anything."

"_Why does it hurt this badly…?"_

"…Why?"

"…You wouldn't want to know."

"_Do you know the answer, Miku-chan…?"_

"…_Luka-chan?"_

"Miku-san…"

"So, please leave."

"…"

With a silent bow of apology, the boy named Len exited the ward room with light footsteps, closing the door behind him.

And I, alone in the gray room once again, continued to shroud myself in a pitiful loneliness.

"{If our wishes were to become lies… at this very moment where warmth vanishes…}"

"_Why did everything have to turn out this way…?"_

"{'Please don't go,' your voice echoes on…}"

"_Please, don't go! Don't leave me! Not you, not Kaito! Please, please, Miku…"_

"{…As everything eventually comes to be forgotten…}"

* * *

><p>"Len?"<p>

From behind the young boy, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Ah. It's just you, Rin."

The owner of the voice was a young girl with looks that were extremely similar to Len's. And it wasn't just the blonde hair and the blue eyes, but all the features of their faces seemed to match each other exactly.

This girl, who looks to be around Len's age, was Len's cousin Kagamine Rin, who is somehow older than him only by a few minutes.

"What are you doing, staring into space like that?"

The two were on the roof of the hospital. Len was seated on the exact spot which Miku had sat on a few days back. Rin, ironically, stood where Len was standing on that day. With her eyes wide with curiosity and concern, Rin bended down low, her face so close to his, until she could feel his breath on her face.

And Len, upon realising the distance between them, immediately flinched backwards in embarrassment and shock.

"Ah! What's with that? Can't your girlfriend look closely at you?" Rin pouted childishly, sitting down onto the bench before crossing her legs and arms.

"That's not it. At least give me a warning before you do something like that," Len sighed. "Besides, there was something I was thinking about."

"Hm? And what's that?"

"It's about a girl whom I met here a few days ago," Len answered with a smile. "She seemed about our age, but looked as if the whole world had ended. I couldn't put away the sight of her sad and empty eyes. She couldn't even speak properly. I kept wondering if there was anything I could do for her."

"Ah…"

"Earlier today, I found her in her ward. It was surprising to hear her voice, but I was also glad that she was able to talk again. But I guess I went too overboard, and acted way too friendly. When I offered my help, she kicked me out."

"That's why you're so glum."

"Yeah. I don't know if I would be able to help her now. She might hate me."

"I don't think so. I think she's just sensitive to what had happened in her past. She probably hasn't gotten over it yet."

_A girl that continues to be trapped in her past._

"Hey! If possible, how about I visit the girl?" Rin offered enthusiastically.

"Eh?"

"You want to help her, don't you? I think this would be a good idea. She doesn't know me, so I can pretend to be a nurse or something to help her. Our grandfather owns this hospital, so I'm sure he would be happy to help us!"

"There you go, abusing your power as the granddaughter of the hospital's founder."

"This isn't abusing! It's called being smart and using all the resources that you have. So, how about it?"

"I got it, I got it. I really can't win against you," Len said with a smile of defeat.

"Ehehe! Then it's settled! Oh, I forgot to ask for her name and ward number. What are they?"

"Her name is Hatsune Miku. Ward A05-324."

"…_This is Hatsune Miku._

_My close friend, Hatsune Miku-chan."_

"…Eh?"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"'Hatsune Miku'…? Are you sure that's her name?"

"Yeah… it was written outside her ward…," answered Len. "Rin, is something wrong?"

As if contemplating whether to answer that, Rin's mouth opened and closed several times, without saying anything. Until, finally-

"Hatsune Miku-san… Wasn't she a close friend of Kaito-san and Luka-san?"

"…Eh…?"

A cold silence draws a line between the two.

It almost felt as if a small window was spreading light into the mysteriously dark room.

* * *

><p>"<em>Can't we return back to how we used to be?"<em>

"{Repeating like this within this colourless world…}"

"_Saying all that is useless right now."_

"_After all, the one who broke our promise were you, wasn't it?"_

"{I patiently increase all my pain…}"

"_I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… I just-"_

"{Even if I'm aware that farewell would soon arrive…}"

"_Saying all that is already useless."_

"{I still wander on aimlessly…}"

"_I will never forgive you…"_

"{I still wander on aimlessly…}"

_I'm sorry… Luka…!_

* * *

><p><strong>Yay~! Looks like I was inspired enough to write another chapter for today. It just felt kinda sad to have the first ACUTE chapter that short. But there wasn't really much to expand on, since it's only an introduction to the setting. Writing the ReAct portion seemed more exciting. XDD<br>**

**This time, I decided to make Miku sing~ So, yeap, what you saw were the lyrics to ReAct, translated by yours truly. There were some edits to make it flow with the story. I'm not too sure if the meaning of it was brought out nicely, but I wanted to try this effect first.**

**My plan was to incorporate the lyrics into the story, making it noticeable, making you go like "Oh! This was from the song!" when you see it, but at the same time, not making it stand out too much nor out-of-place.**

**I was also planning to write everything from Miku's point-of-view, but I eventually found that difficult for a fanfiction, so I was forced to momentarily switch out into an omniscient narrator during the Len+Rin scene. I'd probably have to do that again later on.  
><strong>

**...Suddenly, I also noticed the fact that I was adding too much Japanese-based ideas into this, and readers without any basic Japanese knowledge wouldn't understand. I would probably have to look through everything and give a little note here and there. Haiz...**

**But, oh well, I hope someone enjoys this! ^^**

**- Niji-chan**


End file.
